$19bna) The United States has given Pakistan $336 million as a part of the CoalitionSupport Fund which was set up in 2001, to combat Taliban insurgency inAfghanistan.b) State Bank of Pakistan has announced that the amount has pushed theforeign exchange reserves upwards to a new high of $19 billion.c) Pakistan is set to receive a total of $1.5 billion for the current fiscal yearending in 2016; this was the first payment of that amount.Gunmen who carried out Indias Punjab attack were Muslim: policea) A 12-hour battle was fought near the Pakistan border in Indian Punjab whichled to the death of ten people.b) The militants, initially thought to be Sikh separatists were believed to beMuslim, as declared by the Punjab police chief.c) Although not confirmed, some police sources believe the assailants were ofPakistani nationality who entered India two days prior to the attack.Lashkar-i-Jhangvi chief Malik Ishaq, two sons killed in Muzaffargarhencountera) The chief of the banned sectarian outfit, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Malik Ishaq andhis two sons, Usman and Haq Nawaz were killed as a result of exchange offire with policemen.b) The attack was launched by militants in hopes of releasing Ishaq frompersonnel of the Counter Terrorism Department who were escorting the chiefto Shahwala to aid police in recovering weapons and explosives.c) Malik Ishaq has been responsible for multiple attacks and has been believedto be the mastermind behind the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team.Afghan govt, Taliban resume peace talks in Murree on Fridaya) Senior government officials have disclosed that representatives fromAfghanistan government and Taliban will meet in Murree in hopes ofsolidifying peace talks and end the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.b) This will be the second round of talks in less than a month; the first talks wereheld on July 7 and are being termed as the Murree Peace Process.c) Members from the Pakistan government believe that the level of delegation islikely to remain the same although requests by the Afghan government weremade to the Taliban to include more senior members in the delegation.Sikh resurgence likely, RAW tells Indian Governmenta) In light of the cross fire on the Indian Punjab border, RAW has warned theIndian government (PMOs office) about Sikh resurgence across the globe.

b) The report highlighted meetings and rallies held by separatists in Germany,

UK, France, US, Malaysia and Pakistan.c) There is widespread belief that BKI and Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), bothbanned in India, are trying to regroup with the help of ISI in Pakistan.Mullah Omar died in Karachi in April 2013: Afghan govta) Amid rumors, initially brought to light by BBC, the Afghanistan Governmentconfirmed that Mullah Omar died in a Karachi hospital in 2013.b) Some Afghan Taliban, however, refute the reports of the death and insist theleader is very much alive.c) Other members of the Afghan Taliban acknowledge the leaders death andare speculating the successor, although there are no clear contenders for theposition.